Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods of managing the operating state of a computing device.
Background of the Related Art
Many users of mobile computing devices store or transport their devices, such as laptop computers and tablet computers, by simply placing them into a sleep state rather than shutting them down. While in sleep state, the device enters a lower energy state to conserve power. Unfortunately, a mobile computing device may not always remain in sleep state and exiting the sleep state causes an increase in the power consumption of the mobile computing device.
The increased power consumption may quickly cause an increase in the component temperatures within the mobile computing device. The mobile computing device is typically designed to maintain temperatures within a desired operating range, but such cooling systems may be ineffective if the device is placed into a physically constrained environment where there is inadequate cooling, such as a backpack, suitcase, or any other unventilated transportation device. Modern mobile computing devices are able to protect themselves by throttling components or shutting down to protect themselves, but these shutdowns are often “hard” shutdowns that do not back-up data or follow necessary shutdown procedures that allow the device to reboot error-free. Over time, these hard shutdowns, and the scenarios that create them, may degrade the device performance. In addition to potentially damaging the device, the loss of battery charge and the extended amount of recovery boot time makes the device less usable.